Paving the Way

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Pitman High School fortunately has a total of four parking lots on campus – three of which are mainly for staff parking only.

Like most other schools, students who choose to park in the parking lot have to go through the process of getting a parking permit, where they have to give their vehicle information, which can be a drag and quite time consuming. For those who are caught parked in a lot without a permit have to speak with campus supervisors.

Limited Parking

A major issue is the lack of parking area for students. Every staff member is given a parking permit and has an easy access parking spot. For example, the athletic parking lot only has select spots for students and a majority is strictly for staff parking.

“Our parking on campus is pretty chaotic, I try to park by the athletic parking lot every day if I cannot park inside which I usually never do. There isn’t very many parking spots available and those that are belong to staff which we can’t park in. Everyday there are at least six or seven parking spots that aren’t being used or available for us students. I park on the street most of the time and it can be a drag at times. If possible, I think we should have more student parking where it’s needed.” explained senior Chris Martinez.

Limited parking area results in students having to park off campus by the houses around the school. This results in the surrounding neighborhoods no longer having the curbside space and residents only have their driveways as a place to park when at their own homes.

Heavy Traffic

Every school comes along with traffic. However, the setup of Pitman’s parking lots increases traffic and makes it difficult for parents and students to get in and out of school.

When picking up students, people tend to park their car where they please and wait for their student to come. This results in a major setback in the flow of traffic and even road rage.

“I think the biggest issue with our parking would be the lay out and how it creates more traffic both in and around campus. A lot of parents/guardians wait for their students by parking in a line that usually goes out to the street. This is a problem because for those who are simply trying to pass through and happen to be driving by Pitman get stuck behind all the traffic and that plays a huge part on the amount of traffic due to our parking.” explained junior Jazmyn Newlun.

Chaos

“Since I’ve recently started driving, I even prefer to park on the street rather than in the parking lots because it is too chaotic and stressful. If I’m correct, there is no charge to a parking permit however it’s easier to park on the curbsides of the neighborhoods. But, I do feel it’s an issue for all of us students to be parking by all of these homes because it takes up the little space that they have.”

Parking can be very hectic anywhere, but with raging parents/ students and little to no space, to get around is extremely difficult and chaotic.

The biggest parking lot on campus would be the one that runs along the B building off of Christoffersen Pkwy. Every morning parents drop off students in the middle of the lot , holding up traffic when the lot was primarily made for student/staff parking.

Resolution

A method that can be used to decrease the amount of traffic could be to have a crossing guard to keep the cars moving.

The overall layout of parking lots on campus can not necessarily be altered however steps and methods can be taken to avoid the heavy traffic. Every lot has limited area for drop off. Perhaps a section can be strictly for drop off areas to keep traffic moving.